Social status and the comorbidity of child depression and conduct disorder.
This study examined the overlap between child depression and conduct disorder (D&CD) as a function of peer social status (i.e., popular, rejected, neglected, controversial, average) in a sample of 1,464 nonreferred 4th graders. Both D&CD were measured by self-report, peer nomination, and teacher ratings. Social status was assessed by peer nomination. A strong correlation (.73) was found between D&CD, even after accounting for shared method variance by confirmatory factor analysis. Furthermore, the number of Ss who scored high on both D&CD was greater than would be expected by chance alone. Multivariate tests revealed that rejected Ss scored higher than average Ss on measures of D&CD. Controversial boys also scored higher on measures of CD. However, analyses also revealed that the association between depression and rejected social status might be due to a subgroup of depressed children who also manifested symptoms of CD. Implications for assessment and treatment of child disorders are discussed.
Cole
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University of Notre Dame, Indiana 46556.
Carpentieri
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D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010555:Personality Inventory; D012917:Social Adjustment; D012928:Social Desirability